


six schools in six years

by zanykingmentality



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Best Friends, Character Study, Gen, Introspection, Lowercase, Vignette, tbh it's really short but i just wanted to get something out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 10:05:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11757546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zanykingmentality/pseuds/zanykingmentality
Summary: all you get are bad grades and a bad rep and a bad rap and a good smack and no friends and no hope and no mom ―she's taken away.





	six schools in six years

**Author's Note:**

> this is really short because I've been having really bad writer's block but hopefully soon I'll be back at it again! hope you enjoy this tiny introspective fic about book one percy. 
> 
> as usual, unbeta-ed but spellchecked!!

there’s a faint _drip-drip_ in the corner of the poseidon cabin. he’s been here a week, and he’s still just getting used to this: the constant smell of ocean inside a low-built beach hut, windows set to look out over the water. he didn’t think it would be this lonely knowing his father.

( _knowing_ is a generous term.)

percy pulls blankets around him and huddles in the one warm spot on the top-bunk bed he’s claimed for his own. the cabin is cold ― colder than he’s used to, at least. it was always cold in the manhattan apartment, but percy’s always chalked that up to thick bruises on his arms and hurt in his heart.

a quick tap sounds against the window. percy jumps, brushing away salty tears dripping down his cheeks, previously unchecked. there’s a gaping hole in his heart barely patched together with guilt and determination.

he climbs down to the floor and lets his feet feel the dissimilarity between the heat of the floor and the chill of the air. (it’s _summer_.)

a face greets him through the window ― eerie and still, but familiar. the face breaks into a smile, curly hair twisting in all different directions, horns just barely poking through the mess of hair. percy slides the window up and pokes his head out just enough to hiss, “what are you doing here? dude, the cleaning harpies’ll eat you _alive._ ”

grover’s grin widens, but percy doesn’t miss the slight anxiety in the crinkles around his eyes. “figured you’d be lonely. open up.” his face moves from the window and percy hurries to the door to let him in.

“i’m not lonely,” percy insists. (it’s a total lie.)

“sure,” grover says, but he clops inside anyway. he takes one look around the cabin ― how empty it is, how untouched it is. “dude, do you even _live_ here?”

percy presses his lips together and doesn’t say anything.

“hey.” grover rests his hand on percy’s elbow ― a gesture that reminds him so much of his mom, he starts to involuntarily tear up. “hey, dude. it’s okay. it’ll be okay.”

“it _won’t_ ,” percy hisses viciously. “my mom is _gone_ and my dad can’t even _do_ anything. i didn’t _want_ this.”

“no one did,” grover murmurs. percy’s on the ground now, swiping at the ghosts of tears on his cheeks.

“i hate this,” percy whispers, more to himself than anyone else. “i _hate_ this.” grover’s sitting next to him, arm slung around his shoulder. they’re silent for what feels like a very long time.

_look, i didn’t want to be a half-blood._


End file.
